Wednesday, November 07, 2007

In which we all begin to worry

The United States Senate appears to be poised to approve the appointment to the highest law enforcement office in the land one Michael Mukasey. This is a man who recently stated that the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court might need to be modified so that those declared by the President to be "terrorists" don't have full access to the Court. He stated that giving such suspects access to federal courts and lawyers was a "bold joke [that] could become a reality."

Half a world away, another Supreme Court - along with much of the rest of the judiciary - remains under house arrest because their President felt they were "at cross purposes" with the President's efforts to control what he says is a threat of terrorists and extremists. In Pakistan, twenty-five percent of the nation's lawyers are currently in jail, charged with terrorism offenses by the Musharraf government. Musharraf declared martial law this last weekend based upon claims that there was a need "to address the extraordinary security situation prevailing in the country."

Something in those words sounds familiar.

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